With silly season fast approaching, the diary full of charismas boozy brunches, client dinners and weekend benders, the Christmas period can easily spiral out of control, turning into a calorific bonanza. At this point in time it may feel easier to hang up your gym shoes for your dancing shoes to then resume fitness training in the new year, but there is a solution or a few rather. Here at Square Mile Fitness our expert Personal Trainers have put together a few tips to help you have a happy health fit holidays.

Here are 5 tips to keep you in tiptop shape during silly season

Get Up And Go
Even though you may have time off or a few later starts than usual use this time productively. We all love the odd lie in from time to time but this time could be used for a trip to the gym to see your trainer, a buddy up workout or a nice early morning run. Planning ahead is the perfect way to shape up your day, make keeping healthy or just moving more a priority. Another benefit to training in the morning is that you can get a good workout done before all the invites for beers come swooping in. your training does not always need to last for an hour, making intensity a priority will net you a great session in 30-40 minutes like this fat loss program we have created.

Food Glorious Food
During the winter months when the weather begins to get much colder we all tend to lean towards comfort foods, some nice roast potatoes, pies, puddings, chips the lot! Now I am not here to say don’t ever eat these foods but the key is to know when to stop; you’re not 12 years old and it is ok to leave the table without cleaning the plate if you’re already full. Don’t be so hard on yourself; now this is something I come across everyday, you have one bad thing to eat then you right off the whole day, that isn’t how it should work. Here is a little tip, plan ahead, even if it is you planning to have something bad but you will also plan the other things you eat that will be healthier. Doing this will ensure that if you do have something a tad unhealthy you will also consume foods that are much better for you, don’t beat yourself up, life goes on!

Teamwork
If you are struggling for motivation why not get your partner, a work colleague, family member or friend involved in one of your workouts; you could even ask your personal trainer if you can bring a friend along to a session to give them some motivation. Surrounding yourself with like minded individuals or someone that’s has a similar goal to yourself will feel empowering, encouraging and you’ll be able to push each other though the more difficult workouts or exercises that you may not be too fond of. Whilst training with a partner you can put your heads together to create workouts that are challenging but fun, there will be exercises that one may prefer over the other but you can motivate each other to work hard and push through the pain

Goal Setting
Plan all of your workouts into your diary and set reminders if need be, make a few bouts of exercise per week a priority. Just as you would make plans to meet up with friends to go shopping or for coffee. A workout should also be slotted into the diary and given the same importance. Approaching the holiday period aimlessly with no actual plan to exercise is just asking for trouble. With no plan it is very likely that all forms of exercise will be missed, so plan ahead to stay in the game. Try to shake things up a little from the current workout schedule that you have. So if group fitness is what you usually do why not try a short dumbbell workout in the gym or a workout that requires no equipment at all.
An ideal week could look like this for you.
Monday – Personal training session
Tuesday – Interval run outside
Wednesday – Rest
Thursday – Buddy up gym Session – or Group Fitness Class
Friday – PT session
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – – Rest

Have Fun
For many of us working out is not just for the physical aesthetic reasons but for the release of the feel good hormones or for the mental clearance of a tough day. Training should be challenging but above all you should try to enjoy it or at least feel good once its over. Get involved in friendly challenges, simple things like “ go to the gym three times per week “ if this is not achieved then a friendly forfeit are put in place, buying coffee for the team is one that I like. Enjoying what you do whether you workout in or outside the gym is important, as the more fun you have the more likely you will stick with it for an extended period of time. Find out what it is you enjoy then give it your all.

We hope a few of these tips can be put to use in order for you to have a happy fit festive session, remember Keep Hydrated, plan ahead and remember to have fun.

Variation is very important As I’m you may here very often within the fitness industry. The effectiveness of any program has a direct correlation to extent that it challenges the body.

The more familiar you become to a program the less your body will respond to it, purely because your body has become accustomed to it. Your body’s natural response to a form of stress caused my training is to become stronger.

A common mistake many trainees make is to stick with a program far too long, or not long enough. Aim to stick with your program for 3-6 weeks depending on the goal, but within that 3-6 week you still have multiple variables you can play with. The tempo of the exercise can be altered to add more or less time under tension, aging this will all be down to what strength quality you wish to stimulate. The number of sets is another variable that you can manipulate, sometime three sets of ten will just not cut it, get creative but always have in mind what you would like to achieve from the training program.

Below we have created a muscle building workout that will kick start your gains, as you can see we have used a different variety of rep schemes, tempos plus rest periods. week 4 will be a de-load week where you will perform 60% of total volume.

Enjoy the muscle building

Exercise

Tempo

Rest

week #1

week #2

week #3

Week #4

A1Fat grip neutral chin 10/10/8/8/6

4011

90

A2 Close grip bench 10/10/8/8/6

3110

90

B1 t bar rows 3×8-10

3010

0

B2 wide pulldowns 3×8-10

3011

0

B3 45 degree sup pulldowns

3×10-12

2010

120

C1 Dips 3×8-10

3010

0

C2 ez French press 3×8-10

3011

0

C3 overhead rope ext 3×12-15

2011

100

If you have any questions, or would like to book in a consultation with one of our personal trainers to discuss how you can create the body your desire,

With Christmas fast approaching and the diary beginning to fill with many evenings out for dinner plus drinks, I decided to provide a few tips on damage limitation.

With the temptation of all the lovely party food and the alcohol flowing freely, the festive season can quickly spiral out of control into a explosion of calories. With the added stress that this time of the year can bring, things can easily get out of hand, exercise plus good nutrition tends to get put on the back burner till mid January.

With temptation coming from every angle, pressure from peers to go out drinking it may seem easier you give up your healthy lifestyle all together then pick things back up in the new year. However, there is still hope of getting you closer to your fitness goals during this time rather than taking steps backwards.

I have a few tips here that will allow you to enjoy yourself without increasing your waistline.

During this time it may seem difficult to stick with your current routine with all these social engagements but you need to put your health first. Rather than giving up al together then planning on getting back on the wagon in January, aim to plan less time consuming session 30 -45 minutes for example.

Giving up altogether can turn out to be difficult when it comes to getting back into the swing of things. Short circuit based session can be hard work effective, but fun at the same time, why not try our fat burning workout. This workout is tough but has many rewards; you’ll be flooded with endorphins and ready to dance the night away.

If you have been pretty mindful with what you now eat now is no tie to go absolutely bonkers, enjoy yourself yes but moderation is key.

On your meals out try to control your portions, load up on veggies and drink lots of water. Try to avoid long periods without food if you have a dinner planned for the evening because you’ll probably end up eating more than usual, enjoy the food but try to avoid huge plies of food all in one go.

If you would like a happy holiday plan put together for you by the square Mile Fitness team to help keep you on track over the festive period, please get in contact with us we would love to help.

3 – second eccentric (on the way down) the lowering portion of the movement0 – at the bottom part of the movement1 – this is the concentric part of the movement (the way up) in parts of my programs you may see a (2) which means 2 seconds up0 – the last number the finishing point of the movement

The benefits

Manipulating the tempo whilst training is a great tool to help achieve gains in strength, muscle growth also performance. When selecting a tempo for any given lift it needs to be specific to the movement. What I mean by this is that if you are doing a power clean you would not use a slow concentric as it goes against the aim of the exercise (power and speed)

If you have a strength goal like improving your squat or bench press for example lifting with a slower eccentric has been shown to improve strength, a slower concentric will recruit higher threshold motor units plus activate type II fibers.

Training tempos can be applied to anyone no matter their training experience, using lighter weights with a slower tempo can be very beneficial to beginners as they can focus on the movement and technique for the given exercise.

Can Tempo training help you reduce body fat? Of course! Training with a slow tempos’ alongside lowered or incomplete recover is a great way to bring about metabolic adaptations. During this style of training you will “feel the burn” and yes it is very taxing! But its all for a good cause and lead to an increase in growth hormone which is known to assist in the fat burning process.

Try adding a tempo prescription into your program and see how it helps you towards better performance and overall results.

If you are still unsure on tempo or how to program beneficial prescriptions into your plan, then book a consultation with one of our brilliant personal trainers from a location in London.

“I have had a great 13 weeks with Tirrel thus far and have benifited greatly from his meticulous planning centred around strength training, variable movement, cardio and nutrition. I am extremely pleased with my results as well as my lifestyle change and knowledge increase. With Tirrel, he is a fine example of someone who is passionate in being at the top end and optimal best in his field of strength training, body sculpting, general fitness and nutrition and all aimed at clients on a personalised, bespoke basis.”

If you would like to make long term liveable lifestyle changes or if you want to learn how drop the fat and keep it off please get in touch.

If this summer you have decided that you want the body worthy of the front cover of a men’s fitness magazine, then you are in the right place.

Whether you are a complete beginner or quite advanced in your training, we here at Square Mile Fitness have created a 12-week beach body program that will take you from zero (zero is a tag harsh) to hero in 12 weeks!

If you are willing to show 100% dedication, combined with the right attitude, plus coaching from the team at Square Mile Fitness will create the recipe for success. We have utilized different methodologies phase by phase to help unleash your true training potential and to help dramatically transform your physique.

Phase 1 of this 12-week program is all about strength; By developing strength you will be at an advantage in the hypertrophy phase as you will be able to lift more weights therefore increasing lean muscle mass and the rate of fat burning.

It goes without saying that if your nutrition is not spot on you will not achieve optimal results, contact one of our Personal Trainer to receive a personalised nutrition plan to ensure you get the best results.

Below is a sample of what a upper body and lower program may look like in phase 1.

For more information on this 12-week beach body plan please get in touch.

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is “what exercises do you do for your legs and butt?” And if I’m being honest that’s probably the first thing women look at on other women, or is that just me? Lol

With summer around the corner, shorts get shorter, dresses get tighter and there’s no way to hide them pins!! So we have created a great way to show them off with this effective lower Body Sculpting program. Whether your looking for fat lose, muscle building or just sculpting what your mumma gave you, this program has it all.

Top personal trainer, Tirrel Grant and I, have put together, in our opinion and own experiences with clients, the BEST legs and bum exercises that even J-Lo would be jealous of. And the best part of it all is it’s all yours for FREE!!! All you have to do is follow the 12week program and see the results!

So what are you waiting for? Oh yea, for me to stop talking right lol so here it is! Who’s ready to transform their lower body into a masterpieces??

Rules and additional Notes

40×0 means
4 second eccentric (on the way down)
0 the bottom part of the movement
x in this case means as fast as possible but this is the concentric ( the way up) in parts of the prog you may see a (2) which means 2 sec up
0 the last number the finishing point of the movement

This is phase 1 (a 4 week program) you need to start with a weight that the last 2 reps as very hard towards the end of sets, I would like you to try to increase the weights on big compound lifts weekly.

Keep Track of every session, meaning record the weights you lift keep your form as strict as possible AND STICK TO THE TEMPO

You will need a stopwatch every session STICK TO THE REST PERIODS not a second sooner or later! 45 rest means your hands are on the bar and ready to go at 43 seconds.

A1,A2- This means super set but check to see the rest time at the end of each exercise A’S are paired B’S and C’s Ect…..

DB means Dumbbell and BB means barbell

Give this your best shot and you will get great results!

Workout 1

Workout 2

For optimal results your nutrition is very important. contact us for a nutritional consultation or to further discuss this program or your own training.

The beginning of week 6 of 10 and everything is going pretty much to plan apart from a very painful physio session I had after my leg workout. My visit to the physio was not for any major reason but for my usual release of my tight hip flexors and TFL muscles.

This week I will be upping the cardio to 3 interval sessions per week all of which will be between 20-25 mins max. My diet was altered slightly 2 weeks ago and I feel full of energy, I will make a few changes in about 2 weeks time but for now all is well so why change something that is working.

Over the next few days I will be in contact with a few photographer to arrange some fitness shoots to showcase my hard work, fun times ahead.

Are you going to the gym 3-4 times per week, busting a gut doing what you believe to be is the best fat loss or muscle building programs but seeing little in return? For the majority of gym goers this would be true, you go to the gym for a solid month, following this gym regime religiously but nothing! Not a single pound loss nor gained. You then start to think “ This is hard, maybe it’s not for me, maybe I’m supposed to have this shape forever, it’s in my genes”Read more

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